Thunder – December 3, 1998: Raven Was A Psychiatrist’s Dream

Thunder
Date: December 3, 1998
Location: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall

It’s the last month of 1998 and things are starting to pick up for Starrcade. The main story coming out of Nitro is kind of hard to pin down. Hall seems to be going to war against the NWO while Goldberg vs. Nash is just kind of happening in the background despite being allegedly the biggest match of the year. Let’s get to it.

Tony recaps some of the NWO stuff from Nitro and calls Dusty a great man for swerving Bischoff. Flair vs. Easy E is set for Starrcade.

Since Hogan has “officially retired”, we get a retrospective on his WCW career. Looking back….Hogan wasn’t all that good around this time.

We see Scott Steiner challenging Scott Hall from Nitro.

Here’s Scott Steiner with something to say. Steiner talks about going to Graceland and says he’s getting more women than Elvis could ever dream of now that he’s the head of the NWO. After insulting the fans, Steiner brags about Hogan passing the torch because they both have big arms. This brings him to Scott Hall because Steiner wants to hurt him. I’m assuming that’s the main event tonight.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Ciclope

Eddie takes out the knee to start and nails the slingshot hilo before sitting on the ropes to yell at the fans. Ciclope slides through the legs to the floor before coming back in with a mostly missing missile dropkick for two. Not that it matters as Eddie hits the brainbuster….and asks for the match to be stopped. The bell rings and we’re done with I think a no contest.

The LWO comes out and Eddie offers Ciclope a shirt, giving us a new member of the LWO.

We see Konnan winning the TV Title on Monday.

We see Page losing the US Title back to Bret Hart.

Renegade vs. Giant

Giant shrugs him off, shrugs him off again and then chokeslams Renegade off the top for the pin in a minute.

Post match Giant talks about beating up two imposters in one week. This brings DDP out through the crowd with a chair to lay out Giant. If the Giant Scum wants some, come get some. I guess that’s another Starrcade match.

Mike Enos vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chavo has an early chat with Pepe before dodging a charging Enos and nailing him with a dropkick. A gorilla press goes as badly as the charge and Chavo dropkicks Enos to the floor, followed by a baseball slide and plancha. Enos shrugs it off and whips him into the barricade though before yelling at a fan about Goldberg. Back in and Mike works over the arm for a bit but gets caught by yet another dropkick.

Guerrero takes him to top for a hurricanrana, only to have Enos counter into a SWEET top rope powerbomb. That’s not enough for a cover though so Enos takes him up top again for a top rope fall away slam as Chavo is in big trouble. Since Mike isn’t that bright though, he picks Chavo up at two. Enos goes over and grabs Pepe for no apparent reason and lays him on the mat. He sets up a powerbomb onto the horse but Guerrero rolls him up for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: C. Well this was a surprise. Enos was a good choice for a power guy that throws small people all over the place and then gets pinned because he’s not all that bright. Chavo actually looked like the weaker worker in the match which isn’t something you often have to say about him.

Konnan music video.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Villano V

Rey is sent into the corner to start but avoids a charge so Villano slaps him in the mask. A dropkick sends Villano out to the floor, setting up a great looking flip dive to take him down again. It works so well that Rey tries another one, only to be slammed down onto the concrete. Back in and Villano hammers away with a knee to the head and a backbreaker before slapping him in the face again. Rey reverses a whip into the corner but charges into the post. Villano’s top rope splash misses and it’s the Bronco Buster into the West Coast Pop for the pin for Rey.

Rating: C. Take Rey and any other high flier and let them fly around the ring for awhile. It’s one of those ideas that is always going to get a nice reaction and this one worked almost as well as anything else. It’s nice to have a match without the LWO stuff getting in the way too.

Post match Eddie comes out and says he’s tired of Rey wanting the title. It’s Juvy that should be going after the Cruiserweight Title and that’s what the LWO is going to do, but Tony says it’s Rey vs. Juvy next week for a shot at Starrcade. Eddie freaks out of course. I still have no idea what the idea of this story is supposed to be. Eddie forces Rey into the group he formed to keep Eric from controlling them and now Eric (or WCW in general) is giving Rey what Eddie doesn’t want. What does Eddie get out of keeping Rey on the team here?

We look at the contract signing from Nitro.

Chip Minton vs. Wrath

Minton was an Olympic bobsledder and wrestled a bit as well. Wrath easily throws him into the corner and stomps away before throwing Minton out to the floor. A suplex onto the concrete keeps Chip in trouble and a slingshot clothesline gets two. Minton comes back with a weak looking sunset flip for two and that’s about the extent of his offense. Wrath hammers away in the corner even more and the Meltdown (BIG pop) is good for the pin.

Rating: D. This was WAY longer than it needed to be and most of it was spent talking about Minton’s Olympic background (nothing wrong with that) and Wrath bouncing back from his loss. The whole appeal of Wrath was the undefeated streak and that just went away a few days ago. There isn’t much left to him now and going back to the squashes isn’t going to do much good.

We recap the Flair/Bischoff/Malenko stuff from Nitro.

Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Raven/Kanyon

Before the match Raven sits in the corner while Kanyon grabs a mic. Kanyon yells at him for putting his head through a window tonight and talks about Raven’s mother. The fans actually get tricked as Kanyon asks who is NOT better than Kanyon before we go to Arn Anderson leading the Horsemen to the ring. Benoit runs Kanyon over to start but gets caught in a sweet rollup for twp. They trade wristlocks until Kanyon takes him down and chokes away out of anger at Raven.

Kanyon stops to call the depressed Raven an idiot, allowing Mongo to run him over out of a three point stance. Steve misses a boot in the corner though and gets caught in something like a neckbreaker. The Horsemen take over with Benoit chopping the skin off Kanyon’s chest before stomping him down for good measure. Raven doesn’t do much so Benoit goes over to yell at him before Kanyon gets double teamed some more.

A backbreaker gets two for Chris but he charges into a boot in the corner. Not that it really matters as he takes Kanyon down with a dragon screw leg whip, only to miss the Swan Dive. Raven still won’t tag so Kanyon hits a powerbomb into a faceplant for two as Raven walks away after being tagged. That’s a countout as Benoit puts Kanyon in the Crossface.

Rating: C+. The idea here worked pretty well with Raven’s downward spiral into depression continues with him walking away from his only friend. Other than that the Benoit stuff was very good, but Mongo just wasn’t working out there for the most part. Thankfully he won’t be around much anymore.

We see Konnan winning the title again for some reason.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Disco Inferno

Before Konnan comes out, Disco says tha the and Konnan should hook up to make a music video of their own. Konnan comes out and does his catchphrases in retaliation. Feeling out process to start with neither guy being able to get the advantage. A fsuplex gets two for Konnan and the seated dropkick sets up a pull of the champion’s pants.

Disco gets back up and hammers away before getting knocked out of the air. A DDT sends Disco to the floor but he snaps Konnan’s throat across the top rope. Back in and the piledriver is easily countered with a backdrop, setting up the 1-8-7 for two on Disco. Konnan blocks the Chartbuster and an X-Factor sets up the Tequila Sunrise to retain the title.

Rating: D+. The ending was never in doubt but Disco was his usual decent self. Konnan was there for little more than to give the Wolfpack some popularity but he was only ok at best in the ring. The match wasn’t terrible but it was nothing I’m going to remember in about five minutes.

Scott Steiner vs. Scott Hall

The NWO Referee is calling this one. Hall jumps Steiner during the entrances to send him out to the floor. Back in and Hall stays on offense but the NWO Referee grabs the leg to give Steiner control. A takedown gives Steiner a few fast near falls before he just hammers away on Hall in the corner. Hall takes a pumphandle slam for two and the NWO Referee keeps up with the fast counts.

Steiner plants him with a tiger bomb for two with his foot on Hall’s chest before throwing on a sleeper. As expected Hall fights out of it and grabs a sleeper of his own but gets countered into a belly to back suplex. Both guys are down but it’s Hall up first and hammering away. The top rope bulldog gets a very slow two and it’s Outsider’s Edge time. Not that it matters though as the referee makes the save and takes the Edge in Steiner’s place. Steiner pops up and lays Hall out before putting on the Recliner as we go off the air with no winner.

Rating: D. This was more of a “we’re out of time so here’s something we promised without either guy having to do a televised job” thing than a main event. You knew something was up as soon as you saw the NWO Referee out there so it wasn’t like the ending came as a big shock or anything.

Overall Rating: C-. This was one of the decent episodes but it means next week is probably going to be horrible. The tag match was actually solid as they let the good workers run the match and just had Mongo in there to do basic power stuff and then leave. Not much to see here but it’s a pretty weak time for WCW.

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Monday Nitro – November 30, 1998: What Exactly Is The Big Story Here?

Monday Nitro #165
Date: November 30, 1998
Location: UTC Arena, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone

We close out November here with a fairly big show. The main event for tonight is Page defending the US Title against Bret Hart despite being banged up as usual. Other than that we’re heading towards Starrcade so we’re likely to get more build between Goldberg and Nash, which hasn’t really set the world on fire yet. Let’s get to it.

No Tenay tonight due to illness so Tony and Larry talk run down the card, including a contract signing for Nash vs. Goldberg. This brings us to Hogan on the Tonight Show on Thanksgiving night where he officially announces he’s running for President. He likes a flat tax apparently.

We go to the back and see the NWO limo arriving with Scott Steiner leading the way. They come out to the ring where Bischoff declares Scott Steiner as the new leader of the Black and White. Steiner says Hogan made it official in LA and talks about his physique for a bit. Tonight the first order of business is taking care of Scott Hall, so it’s Hall/a parnter vs. Steiner/Horace.

Nitro Girls.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Konnan

Jericho is defending. Konnan sends him to the apron to start and Jericho immediately complains about a hair pull. Back in and we hit the armbar on the champion before Jericho comes back with a running clothesline. Konnan will have none of this being on defense stuff and hits a seated dropkick, only to be caught in a hot shot. A springboard dropkick puts Konnan on the floor and Chris follows him out with a great looking plancha.

Back in and Jericho dives into Konnan’s boot before a fisherman’s suplex gets two. The Lionsault gets two for the champion but the Liontamer is too close to the ropes. With nothing else working, Jericho tries to cheat by bringing in the belt. Ralphus’ distraction doesn’t work though and an X Factor onto the belt gives Konnan the title.

Rating: D+. Not much here but a title change is always a good way to fire up a crowd. It’s about time the Wolfpack got some gold. That being said, it’s a bad idea overall with the midcard scene picking up and now another title is locked into the NWO stories. Jericho didn’t do much here and unfortunately that’s likely to be a trend for him in the coming months.

The Wolfpack comes out to celebrate and we see Konnan’s music video.

Gene brings out Flair for a chat. Flair is in serious mode tonight and says that he’s talking like a man so Bischoff will hear it. Just because someone gets old doesn’t mean that they’re great. Flair lists off a bunch of names like Hogan, the Andersons, the Road Warriors and Wahoo McDaniel made Bischoff the man he is. Now Flair is mad at Windham for what he did last week, but he hates Bischoff. Flair wants a piece of Bischoff anytime anywhere.

Nitro Party winner.

Here’s Hall in an Outsiders shirt to say that he’ll fight the NWO on his own tonight. Kevin Nash comes out and says if Hall needs a partner, he’ll be Scott’s Huckleberry.

Raven/Kanyon vs. Scott Armstrong/Steve Armstrong

Raven is sitting in the corner to start against Scott and we appear to be in an angle instead of a match. Kanyon and Raven argue about Raven’s mom for some reason but Kanyon gets jumped from behind by Scott to really get things going. The brothers’ advantage is short lived though as Kanyon fights back with a nice faceplant but stops to argue with Raven. A Flatliner lays out Steve but goes to yell even more, allowing Scott to roll Kanyon up for the big upset.

Hour #2 begins.

Here’s Bret Hart for a chat with Gene. Bret says he’s badly hurt tonight and can’t face Page for the US Title tonight even though that’s what Bret wanted to do. This brings Page out through the crowd to say the word SCUM a lot and call Bret a liar because Bret issued the challenge in the first place. Hart doesn’t have his gear so he insists on it being a No DQ match tonight. Page agrees to what sounds like a ruse.

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Eddie Guerrero

Kidman is defending. Feeling out process to start until Eddie makes the mistake of slapping the champion and gets dropkicked for his efforts. A headscissors puts Eddie down again and a dropkick sends him to the floor. Kidman is sent into the steps to give Guerrero his first advantage and crushes him between the steps and post for good measure. Back in and the slingshot hilo gets two as we take a break.

Back with Eddie cranking on the champ’s arm and wrapping it on the top. He gets crotched loading up the frog splash but blocks a top rope Frankensteiner. Back down and Eddie’s powerbomb is countered into a faceplant (duh) followed by the lifting powerbomb for two. Cruiserweights use a lot of powerbombs the more I think about it.

Guerrero comes back with a tornado DDT but ANOTHER powerbomb is countered into another faceplant. The champ drops Eddie with a superplex but the referee goes down at the same time. This brings out Juvy to help his boss but Mysterio comes out to dropkick Eddie (also his boss) in the back, setting up the Shooting Star to retain the title.

Rating: C. Good stuff as usual from these guys but I’m not sure where this story is going. We get that Mysterio hates being in the LWO and Eddie knows that Mysterio hates being in the LWO and will cost the LWO matches, so why does he insist on Rey being in the LWO and not use the LWO army to destroy Mysterio? At least the matches are good though.

Bam Bam Bigelow is here with a ticket.

Here are Eric Bischoff and Barry Windham with something to say. Eric talks about going to Cody, Wyoming where he heard a lot of people wanting Hogan to be President. We get a little campaign speech before Bischoff calls out Dean Malenko. He gets the Horsemen minus Flair on the stage and Malenko alone in the ring. Tonight it’s going to be Malenko vs. Windham and if Dean wins, Flair gets to face Bischoff. Dean says it’s on but Eric has one more idea: Dusty Rhodes is going to be guest referee. Big Dust comes out but Malenko won’t shake his hand.

Nitro Girls and Heenan at the booth.

Wrath vs. Bobby Blaze

Total squash with Wrath winning in less than a minute but the magic just isn’t there anymore.

Bigelow is still in the crowd.

Here’s Ernest Miller, flanked by Sonny Onoo, to issue his open challenge to the crowd. This brings out Perry Saturn who says that he’ll have a try. Miller says that Saturn is clearly weak due to losing to Sonny on Sunday, so he’ll have to beat Sonny to get a piece of the Cat.

Perry Saturn vs. Sonny Onoo

We get the karate poses from Onoo but Saturn plants him down with a powerbomb, only to have Miller break up the pin. The distraction lets Glacier run in with a Cryonic Kick to Saturn to give Sonny two. Miller throws in a chain to Onoo but Sonny takes the Death Valley Driver. Somehow he slips the chain into Saturn’s tights though and the referee sees it for a DQ, giving Sonny the win. Someone tell me why putting Saturn in this feud is a good idea. I’d love to hear this rationale.

We see Goldberg get out of a limo and come to the ring for the contract signing with Nash. Both guys sign with no issues and Goldberg doesn’t have to defend until Starrcade. Bigelow tries to jump the railing but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Mike Enos vs. Booker T

Booker easily takes him down to start and nails the forearm and a superkick. Enos catches him charging into a hot shot though before knocking Booker out to the floor with a clothesline. Another hot shot onto the barricade has Booker in trouble but he comes back inside with a spinwheel kick, the ax kick and the Harlem Sidekick, followed by a kind of spinebuster for the quick pin.

Bigelow is in the parking lot and wants Goldberg to come fight him.

Brian Adams vs. Lex Luger

Feeling out process to start as Tony talks about the Mark Curtis Benefit Show last night. Luger runs over Adams with ease a few times but gets his neck snapped across the top rope to give not-Crush the advantage. A clothesline puts Luger on the floor so Vincent can earn his paycheck for the night. Back in and Luger makes a quick comeback and nails the forearm but Adams’ feet take the referee down as he’s loaded into the Rack. The NWO nails Luger with a chair and spike piledriver for two before we get Lex’s real comeback. He knocks Adams into the chair despite Adams putting the brakes on, setting up the Rack to win.

Rating: D. Just a dull match here without anything of interest. This is the same as the LWO but slightly less confusing. What exactly are we heading to with this NWO war? They’ve been fighting for over six months now and there’s nothing changing about any of the fights. At least Luger is beating the guys he should be beating though.

Barry Windham vs. Dean Malenko

If Dean wins, Flair gets Bischoff at some point. NWO member Dusty Rhodes is referee, Barry is in jeans and Dean is coming in with a bad knee. Dean wins an early slugout and we head to the floor for a chase but Dusty yells at Dean for a distraction, allowing Barry to take over. A gutwrench suplex and elbow to the jaw drop Malenko and Dusty is right in his face to ask if he wants to give it up.

Dean avoids an elbow drop and heads up, only to be slammed right down onto the bad knee. Some elbows to the knee have Dean in even more trouble and Barry slams the leg down on the apron. Barry stays on the leg with kicks to the thigh as Dean is in the ropes…..AND THAT’S A DQ??? Dusty calls for the bell and raises Dean’s hand as the announcers are in shock.

Rating: D+. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere but was much more about the angle than the action. It’s nice to see someone finally changing over to WCW as at times it seems WCW doesn’t even exist anymore other than as a place for the NWOs to fight each other. Also Dusty being in the NWO just didn’t work.

Post match Bischoff runs out to fire Dusty as the Horsemen come out to beat the tar out of Windham. Eric gets out before Flair can get to him.

Horace Hogan/Scott Steiner vs. Outsiders

The Outsiders do the Rock Paper Scissors to determine who starts against Horace. The NWO referee is in there as well. Hall nails the driving shoulders and puts on an armbar, only to walk into a hard clothesline. A hiptoss is countered into a chokeslam from Hall but it’s off to Scott Steiner. It’s Steiner with a muscle clothesline and a fast count is good for two. A butterfly suplex gets the same for Steiner on the other Scott but Steiner charges into a boot in the corner.

The middle rope bulldog gets two for Hall but the referee counts VERY slowly. Steiner comes back with a low blow but Nash saves Hall from some Horace choking. Back in and Horace stomps away and gets two off a backbreaker and splash. We hit the front facelock for a bit until Hall fights up and makes the tag to Nash. The NWO referee doesn’t count it but Nash comes in anyway and cleans house until Hall hits the Edge on Horace. No count of course so Nash Jackknifes the referee and a WCW referee comes in for the pin. Nash walks out as soon as the pin goes down.

Rating: D+. Another angle instead of a match here and Nash running off was interesting. I’m not sure where Steiner went after the hot tag but it fits the idea of the NWO wanting to run away from a real fight. The fans were really excited about the idea of the Outsiders being back together again, which is why I doubt it’s going to keep happening.

Goldberg barrels through the doors and heads outside to fight Bigelow. They go at it in the parking lot until security breaks it up. That’s not good enough for Goldberg though as he fights away and spears Bigelow down.

US Title: Bret Hart vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Bret is challenging and this is No DQ. Hart is in street clothes and isn’t sure about locking up to start. Page takes him into the corner but lets him go, allowing Bret to get in a low blow to take over. Choking and eye raking ensues until Page sends him into the corner for a hard stomping. Bret gets caught in the Figure Four around the post until the Giant makes the save. A chokeslam puts Page down in the ring and a chokeslam from the top rope (pretty much the same as a regular chokeslam) sets up the Sharpshooter for the knock out win, giving Bret the title back.

Rating: D+. This is a hard one to rate as it was exciting while it lasted but the match isn’t even four and a half minutes long with Giant being out there for about a minute and a half of that. Not much to see here though as this feud just keeps going. Hopefully this wraps things up though.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a show about setting up matches for the future which is what matters as we head into the biggest show of the year. The contract signing was nothing though and it felt more like the Outsiders reunion was bigger than anything with Goldberg. Flair vs. Bischoff looks more like the main event for Starrcade, despite it not even being official yet. It’s not a bad show, but it sets up stuff for the future which is a rare thing in WCW.

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Monday Nitro – November 23, 1998: The Dean Malenko Showcase

Monday Nitro #164
Date: November 23, 1998
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan

We’re on the road to Starrcade now with a main event of Kevin Nash challenging Goldberg for the World Title. The other main story coming out of last night was Hogan not appearing in the big battle royal for reasons that weren’t explained. Other than that we didn’t get the two big midcard matches we were promised because this is WCW and giving us angles instead of delivering advertised matches is a great idea. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about the battle royal last night and tell us to tune in to the Tonight Show on Thursday to see why Hogan wasn’t in the battle royal.

We get some stills of the battle royal as well.

Lex Luger vs. Mike Enos

They circle each other for a bit to start until Luger runs him over with a shoulder block. A headlock sends Enos to the floor as the announcers talk about everything other than the match. Back in and Mike drops him throat first across the top rope and nails a piledriver for two. We hit the chinlock on Luger followed by a nice powerslam for two more. Back up and Mike can’t hit a superplex, allowing Luger to hit a top rope clothesline and a superplex of his own. A powerslam sets up the Rack for the submission from Enos.

Rating: C-. Enos didn’t look all that bad here and Luger was actually doing more than just the usual for a change. It’s still not all that entertaining but it was better than a lot of the dull matches with guys like these two on Nitro. I’d still like the Wolfpack to actually do something of note instead of just having random matches of no consequence.

Goldberg shows up in a limo, followed by the Wolfpack in their limo. Konnan tells Nash that he’s next but Goldberg says that’s not a safe place to be. “Just ask your girlfriend.”

Gene brings out Kidman to talk about the situation last night where Rey Mysterio helped him win back the Cruiserweight Title. Rey comes out and Kidman offers him a title shot tonight due to Mysterio being back to his old style. Wasn’t he only away from his old style for six days and by force? They shake hands and say may the best man win but here are Eddie and his bodyguard to interrupt. Eddie says Rey is still a contracted member of the LWO so he needs to put the shirt back on. Guerrero pulls out a gigantic shirt that Rey is forced to put on, but he promises to make this right later.

Norman Smiley vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is actually taken down pretty easily and kicked in the back, only to have him pop up and slap Norman in the face. They hit the mat for a bit until Benoit takes him into the corner and stomps away, only to charge into a knee to the ribs in the other corner. Smile does that spinning slam of his but Benoit comes right back with Rolling Germans, the Swan Dive and a Crossface for the fast submission. This was better than expected.

Nitro Party.

Stills of Hall vs. Nash which wasn’t a match.

Here’s the Wolfpack to celebrate their victory. Luger doesn’t like finishing second in anything but at least it was to another Wolfpack guy. Nash takes the mic and says he’s next and will be the 1 in 190-1. So Heyman stole his big promo from Kevin Nash? The Wolfpack leaves but Gene follows to ask about Hall. Nash can’t trust him because of what’s happened already, which makes sense. Goldberg comes by and says he’ll be the truck that runs Nash over. Nash: “Lay off the caffeine Bill.” Nice to see Big Kev so serious before his title shot.

Kanyon vs. Tokyo Magnum

Before the match we see Kanyon trying to get Raven to come out with him but Raven says Kanyon wouldn’t understand. Once in the arena, Kanyon yells at Raven to come out, allowing Tokyo to grab a rollup for two. A bulldog gets the same but Kanyon snaps off a Russian legsweep to take over. Tokyo gets two each off a sunset flip and small package, but a hiptoss is countered into the Flatliner to give Kanyon a fast pin.

Nitro Girls.

Glacier vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

The cowboy takes him into the corner to start and shrugs off some kicks before nailing a headbutt to the ribs. More power shots such as a clothesline and shoulder drop drop Glacier and we head back outside for even more punishment, including a hard whip into the barricade. Back in and a top rope clothesline is good for two on Ice Dude but he comes back with his usual variety of kicks. A powerslam gets two for Glacier, only to have Duncum come right back with a running DDT. Duncum’s attempt to use his bullrope doesn’t work so he hits a Skull Crushing Finale for the pin. That’s not a good finisher for him.

Rating: D. Duncum is trying, but him going after the cowbell and bullrope shows how stupid WCW could be at the time. I know they’re a southern based promotion, but I got so sick of their OBSESSION with cowboys. Yeah we get it you have a bullrope and a big hat. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

Giant comes out to talk about the battle royal last night. He wanted a piece of Nash but Nash needed an army to take him out since Big Kev won’t fight him one on one. Since that’s out of the question, Giant wants to know if Goldberg has the guts to face him tonight.

Hour #2 begins.

Saturn vs. Silver King

Before the match, Saturn tells Ernest Miller to jump him if he wants to. Why is this feud still a thing? A hard shoulder takes Silver King down to start followed by a drop toehold. Back up and a few kicks drop Saturn, setting up a slingshot splash for two. Saturn is bored by selling and nails a clothesline and superkick to send Silver King outside, only to draw out Sonny Onoo and Ernest Miller. After some lame trash talk, a German suplex and the Death Valley Driver end Silver King.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman

Kidman is defending. Feeling out process to start with Rey sending him into the corner for an early Bronco Buster to a bit of a mixed reaction. Maybe the huge shirt is offputting. They trade headscissors takeovers with Rey’s taking both guys over to the floor. Back in and Rey hits a quick dropkick to the knee followed by something like a Fameasser for two.

Kidman is sent to the apron but comes in over the top with a top rope cross body for two of his own. The champion charges at Rey but Mysterio uses what would become the 619, sending Kidman flying out to the floor in a cool spot. A big springboard flip dive takes Kidman down but he’s able to dropkick Mysterio out of the air as they come back in. Kidman powerslams him for two before getting caught in the sitout bulldog for another near fall. That’s FINALLY enough to get the announcers to care about the guys in the ring instead of Nash vs. Goldberg.

Rey comes back again with a sunset bomb out of the corner but Kidman is right back as well with a running bulldog up the corner. The masked dude hits a superplex but West Coast Pop is countered into the short powerbomb in a great counter. Juvy and Eddie come out for a distraction with Kidman going after the latter, allowing Guerrera to hit the Juvy Driver on Rey, setting up the Shooting Star to retain the title.

Rating: C+. This was a nice back and forth match between these two but the LWO continues to go nowhere for the most part. It’s nice of them to have some kind of a story, but there’s only so much that they can do against each other. I’d love to see them get out of the division for a change, but this is WCW so that’s a very rare thing to see.

Here’s Bischoff for his weekly Horsemen address. He understands that Flair isn’t going away and asks for him to come out here right now for a showdown. Flair comes out for the staredown on his own and says he’s humbled by the reaction he’s getting here in Grand Rapids. Bischoff actually says Flair deserves this before saying they have to acknowledge that Bischoff runs the company. Flair will admit that Ted Turner is a great man but made a mistake in hiring Bischoff.

Eric brings up Flair bringing in Barry Windham but Flair has no authority to hire anyone. This brings out Barry who immediately hugs Flair. Bischoff thinks that Barry is going to turn on Windham, which might be an accurate prediction. Bischoff slaps Flair and gets jumped, only to have Barry hit Flair low. The NWO jumps the Horsemen as they try for a save and Horace works over Dean’s leg. Eric makes Bret vs. Malenko tonight.

Stills of Booker saving Stevie Ray from Konnan last night.

Booker T. vs. Konnan

Tony tells us that Horsemen have left the arena other than Dean. Nice teammates they are. Booker takes over to start with a wristlock but walks into the rolling clothesline. A clothesline and back elbow to the jaw drop Konnan and a pair of kicks but Stevie comes out and nails Konnan in the head with a slapjack for a DQ.

Stevie asks Booker where his head is but Booker says he doesn’t need his brother.

Gene brings out Bret Hart for a chat. Bret says that punk DDP stole a cheap win last night and wants a rematch. He’ll destroy Dean’s knee until Page accepts the challenge.

Nitro Girls.

Wrath vs. Kevin Nash

The idea here is simple: Nash is facing the ultimate streak at Starrcade so he’s challenging a smaller streak here. Wrath drives in knees in the corner and nails a bicycle kick to drop Nash with ease. A dropkick sends him over the top and out to the floor as it’s all Wrath to start. Nash comes back in with right hands and elbows in the corner but Wrath easily suplexes him down. Wrath gets two off a top rope clothesline but he charges into a boot in the corner. Side slam is good for two on Wrath and a shoulder gets the same on Nash. Kevin comes right back with a big boot and the Jackknife to end Wrath once and for all.

Rating: C-. The match actually wasn’t all that bad but the booking is pretty questionable. I fully understand the idea of having Nash beat a winning streak, but Wrath was a guy with potential and they just burned through it here. On top of that, Wrath dominated the match and Nash hit like two moves for the win in less than five minutes. This should have been a bigger deal than it was.

Gene brings out Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho’s hair looks like he’s been subjected to static electricity experiments. However Jericho wants to be serious tonight. The Jericholics have disappointed him lately by not cheering loud enough. He’s their role model because he’s better than every single one of them. Gene brings up Bobby Duncum Jr. and Jericho can’t pronounce his last name. As Jericho makes fun of cowboys, Duncum walks out with a hogtied Ralphus. Jericho: “GET AWAY FROM HIM! HE’S A TRAINED KILLER!”

Scott Hall vs. Alex Wright

Jericho is still trying to untie Ralphus during Hall’s entrance. Hall says cut the NWO Black and White music. Tonight is going to be the final survey because the fans are all here to see the…..something I can’t make out. There are two factions in the NWO and Hall doesn’t care for either one of them right now, so send out Alex Wright so Hall can destroy him. After the toothpick throw, Alex flips out of a belly to back suplex but gets punched in the jaw and clotheslined out to the floor.

Alex actually pulls Hall outside for some right hands as the fans chant USA. Back in and a missile dropkick puts Hall down again but it’s time to dance. Heenan is LIVID over this as you can hear the manager in him trying to come back out. They slug it out a bit until Hall levels him with a clothesline and the Edge is good for the pin.

Rating: C. Far better match here than I was expecting as Wright got to show off here in a bit of a surprise. Hall being serious is a good thing though as I really didn’t care for the drunk angle. Hall is talented enough to put on entertaining matches with almost anyone so it was a waste of his talent to use that kind of a gimmick.

Nitro Girls.

Bret Hart vs. Dean Malenko

Dean is favoring his knee after the attack earlier. Bret goes right for the knee to take over and kicks away but Dean gets in a right hand and some stomps to take over. Dean tries a rolling cradle but the knee gives out and they roll to the floor. We take a break and come back with Tony telling us about a special bonus Nitro tomorrow with another hour. Oh freaking JOY.

Dean tries a suplex and the knee holds up for the most part but he can’t follow up. A small package is good for two on Hart as Tony actually gets a fact right: Windham wasn’t an original Horseman. Dean comes back with a sleeper which Heenan points out allows him to rest the leg. Bret fights out of it with a belly to back but Malenko keeps the hold on. They head outside for a few seconds before Dean chokes with the boot in the corner.

Bret goes right back to the knee to take over though and snaps the bad leg down. He grabs the leg again but gets enziguried down to give Dean a breather. Back up and Dean slams him into the buckle while hobbling across the ring. Nice touch. A superplex doesn’t work but Bret goes down to the apron to keep Malenko out of trouble. The leg lariat sets up the Texas Cloverleaf but Bret is right in the ropes.

They fall to the floor with Dean landing on the leg to keep him down. Bret tries to bring in a chair but the referee takes it away, allowing Malenko to nail a missile dropkick for a very close two. Malenko tries a leapfrog but can’t get the elevation and goes down again. Bret wraps the leg around the post a few times and nails a Diamond Cutter, causing the referee to stop it.

Rating: B. I was really liking this one and the ending actually makes it better. Malenko doesn’t have to do a clean or even dirty job here and goes down fighting the whole way. His comeback was great with the knee being sold the whole way through. But of course we couldn’t have Dean move up the card long term or anything like that as a result of a great performance like this.

DDP comes in to save Malenko’s knee but gets beaten down with a chair. Bret misses a chair shot to the knee but gets away from the Diamond Cutter. Page calls him Hitscum Hart as Bret walks away. We get a challenge for a rematch for the US Title next week.

WCW World Title: Giant vs. Goldberg

They fight into the corner to start and Giant kicks him in the side of the head. Chokeslam gets two and Goldberg hammers away with some kicks to the ribs. Spear and a delayed Jackhammer retain the title.

Bam Bam Bigelow runs in post match but Nash comes out for the save. Goldberg goes after Nash and security separates them to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was an entertaining enough show but I’m not interested in Starrcade so far. Goldberg vs. Nash just doesn’t feel like a big showdown main event but it’s what we’re getting no matter what. The Jackhammer to Giant was very impressive and Malenko’s match was good so it’s a watchable show but in a bad time for WCW.

Remember there’s the extra Nitro show Tuesday and no Thunder this week.

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World War 3 1998: WCW Needs A Nap

World War 3 1998
Date: November 22, 1998
Location: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 17,670
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

This is one of those shows that has only been hyped for the last week or so leading up to it. The main events here are Bret Hart vs. DDP for the US Title and the three ring battle royal, which I don’t remember any wrestler actually talking about so far. The winner gets a World Title shot at Starrcade against Goldberg, because Goldberg isn’t even in action tonight. Let’s get to it.

We open with a typical video focusing on the two main matches without saying anything. WCW never put a ton of effort into these things.

We see Goldberg arriving “earlier today”, despite it being pitch black outside.

The announcers tell us that Hollywood Hogan isn’t here. This is shocking as Hogan just started the big President angle on Monday.

Gene hypes up the Hotline, saying we can hear Heenan’s recorded message of who he thinks will win tonight.

Wrath vs. Glacier

Unannounced match. Tony does a good job of hyping up Wrath’s hot streak and make him sound like a killer. We even hear a bit about their history as Tony is actually thinking tonight. That gets messed up very quickly though as he names picks the middle ring as Ring #1. Glacier is thrown to the floor with ease and the stalling begins. Back in and Wrath no sells a dropkick before hitting a hard knee to send Glacier to the floor.

Another whip sends Glacier into the crowd and Wrath chops away at the chest. Heenan picks Wrath to win the battle royal tonight to start the running joke. Actually Wrath wouldn’t have been the worst option in the world to make a run in there. Tenay says Hollywood is catching on to Wrath and he’s up for roles in movies. They really are making him out to be a big deal.

Back in and some hard elbows to the chest have Glacier in trouble as Heenan lists off reasons why Wrath’s body is perfect for wrestling. A hard clothesline drops Glacier for two and even throws his feet on the ropes for some extra leverage. Outside again so Wrath can choke Glacier with a cable. Back in one more time and we hit the chinlock on Glacier. Wrath misses a charge into the corner and gets superkicked in the shoulder. Glacier’s Ice Pick hold (thumb into the neck) is easily blocked and the Meltdown ends things.

Rating: D. This would have been a good choice for an opening match if they hadn’t taken so long with it. There’s no reason to have Wrath take nearly ten minutes to beat Glacier. Cut this match down by about five minutes and things are so much better. I’ll give them credit for how much they hyped Wrath though. They were treating him like a huge deal and it sounded really good.

Video on Bret injuring a lot of people. It’s all their fault though. Why this is filmed in front of a hockey goal isn’t exactly clear.

Konnan vs. Stevie Ray

Unannounced match #2. It’s a posedown to start as the announcers rip on Stevie for calling himself the Enforcer. Ray pounds Konnan down in the corner twice in a row but Konnan comes back with a running clothesline. We hit a seated abdominal stretch less than two minutes into the match as Heenan jumps to Konnan for the battle royal. Stevie fights up and hits an awful looking clothesline for two before we head outside.

After some cheap shots from Vincent and a discussion of the slapjack sticking out of his pocket, we head back inside for a chinlock on Konnan. Stevie misses a running elbow and Konnan makes his comeback with the usual. A Vincent distraction works for a bit but he accidentally hits Stevie with the slapjack. Konnan hammers on Stevie until the DQ though in a stupid ending.

Rating: D. We’re half an hour into this show and I’m already longing for a Thunder rerun. I have no idea why we couldn’t get a pin before Konnan went off on Stevie. Also, why did Konnan do that in the first place? It was a normal match up until that point and then he just went nuts.

Booker T. immediately hits the ring for the save but Stevie wants nothing from him.

Sonny Onoo/The Cat vs. Kaz Hayashi/Saturn

Why Saturn was paired with Hayashi and why this match is getting ANY kind of focus was never explained. Heenan makes things a bit more interesting by saying people are talking about World War 3 in correctional facilities around the country. There’s actually a story here as Sonny used to manager Kaz but jumped to the Cat. That’s fine in theory, but Hayashi has never been anything more than a low level guy in WCW so it’s not the most interesting story in the world.

Cat and Hayashi get things going with Miller (Cat) doing the five seconds deal. Hayashi uses the time to tag in Saturn who quickly sends Miller running to the floor. Back in and Cat slams Kaz down a few times before it’s off to Sonny for the first time. The kicks have no effect so Sonny offers money, only to have it knocked out of his hands. Heenan: “BE RIGHT BACK!”

Off to Saturn vs. Miller with the Cat taking him into the corner for some hard stomping. Sonny comes in, kicks Saturn once, and is right back out. Saturn takes Miller down with an STF attempt but it’s quickly back to Kaz who is kicked in the corner by both villains. Cat saves Sonny from an atomic drop with a kick to the back of the head. Kaz rolls away from some Onoo chops and makes the tag off to Saturn for almost no reaction. Saturn chops and suplexes Miller a few times as everything breaks down. Cat nails a big kick to Saturn’s head, allowing Sonny to fall on top for the pin.

Rating: D-. This is a good example of why WCW never made any big stars. Saturn was hot after the Raven feud and should have gone after a title, but instead he’s thrown into a low level feud that had no interest at all and gets to job to a manager. Why? What good comes out of this? A worthless manager gets to brag in the two minutes of TV time he gets every two weeks? But hey, at least the NWO guys get to look good.

Chris Jericho isn’t worried about Bobby Duncum and getting hogtied again tonight. Why is Duncum getting this feud instead of Saturn?

Cruiserweight Title: Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera Jr.

Champion Juvy comes out in an LWO shirt, which ticks Rey off. Apparently this is why he got the title shot last Monday instead of Rey, who won the title shot in the first about ten days ago on Thunder. Eddie tells Rey that they need to go in the back so Eddie can explain the idea of sacrificing the needs of one for the needs of the group. At least the match almost has to be better.

Juvy grabs a headlock to start before they slug it out with forearms and chops. Guerrera comes right back with something resembling a Fameasser but stops to pose on the ropes. Kidman comes back with a suplex and a slingshot legdrop for two of his own but Juvy nails him with an Alabama Slam for two. We hit the chinlock for all of eight seconds on Kidman before he explodes out of the corner with a clothesline.

Guerrera hits a Stunner across the top rope but gets dropkicked out of the air for two. A nice plancha to the floor takes Juvy out again and they both get up slowly. Juvy is up first though and tries a springboard hurricanrana, only to land on the apron instead of the floor in a bad looking botch. Back in and Guerrera nails a brainbuster for two before knocking him to the floor with a springboard missile dropkick. The champion hits a springboard plancha of his own and both guys are down again.

Back in again and a guillotine legdrop gets two on Kidman before they head over into another ring. Juvy lands a double springboard into the other ring into a dropkick (which landed low) for two, which really shouldn’t count when you think about it. Kidman misses a charge into the corner but is able to crotch Juvy to break up a 450 attempt. A bad looking headscissors (the legs wound up under Juvy’s arms) brings them back into the original ring and a springboard cross body gets two for Kidman.

Juvy backdrops him into the only ring they haven’t been in yet and nails a hurricanrana for two. The Juvy Driver connects but Juvy can’t cover. The 450 doesn’t work but Juvy counters the lifting powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two. A wheelbarrow suplex looks to set up the Shooting Star but Juvy crotches Kidman down. Juvy loads up a top rope hurricanrana but Mysterio holds Kidman’s belt to keep him on the top. The Shooting Star is enough to get the title back on Kidman.

Rating: C. The match was watchable but it’s the definition of a spot fest. There’s almost no transition between the moves and the spots took a good amount of time to set up. Still though, it’s FAR better than anything else we’ve seen tonight and the spots woke up the bored crowd a little bit.

Eddie and the LWO come out and yell at Rey. Guerrero says make a decision if you’re in or out and Mysterio rips the shirt off. The chase is on and Rey runs away from about ten guys at once. So let’s recap here for a minute. Ten days ago, Rey won a Cruiserweight Title shot against Kidman which he still hasn’t received and was hated by Eddie for not joining the LWO. Now it’s ten days later and Rey has a Cruiserweight Title shot against Kidman and Eddie hates him for leaving the LWO. I’d so glad WCW used the last ten days so wisely.

We recap Kevin Nash not attacking Scott Hall on Nitro.

Scott Steiner vs. Rick Steiner

I’ll put the over/under for this one at 90 seconds. Buff and the NWO referee are out with Scott. And there’s no Rick. We cut to the back to see the NWO attacking Rick until Giant carries him to the ring. Scott beats on him for a bit until Goldberg runs out for the save and throws the referee from one ring to another.

I’d LOVE the explanation for why these two weren’t allowed to fight, even in their home state of Michigan. There was no bell so the match never even started. This would be three months of teasing this and the longest we’ve gotten so far is about five minutes ending with the fake Bagwell injury. It’s as basic of a story as you can ask for but for some reason they just never did it. That’s something that drove me crazy in WCW and it wasn’t just this match. Page vs. Hogan never had a big singles match, even though it easily could have headlined a PPV.

Scott Hall vs. Kevin Nash

The same NWO guys that attacked Rick are here with Hall. Bischoff comes out and does the survey, saying that Hall is out of the NWO. The beatdown is on and here’s Nash for the save. Heenan: “This reminds me of the Outsiders!” In one of the only emotional moments you’ll ever see in WCW, the fans LOUDLY chant for the Outsiders. Hall holds up the Wolfpack sign but Nash shakes his head and walks away.

To recap, we had time for a Kaz Hayashi match and a Stevie Ray match, but the Steiners and Outsiders exploding couldn’t have real matches. Good to see those priorities being straight WCW.

The announcers talk about what we’ve just seen. So we can have the segments and the recaps, but not the actual matches? Again, I would love an explanation for this.

TV Title: Bobby Duncum Jr. vs. Chris Jericho

This is Duncum’s second match in WCW and I have no idea why he’s getting this spot instead of a ton of the talented guys they have on the roster. Duncum isn’t even that bad but he just doesn’t need to be in this spot yet. As I said, have Hayashi ask him to be the partner (since we NEEDED that Kaz Hayashi match) and give Saturn this spot. Duncum does have an awesome look. He’d get a job in a heartbeat in today’s WWE if he were still around.

Jericho is quickly shoved to the mat and out to the floor for a hug from Ralphus. Back in and Jericho takes him down as the announcers talk about Hogan and something being up with the NWO. Heenan asks if Hall is still a member of the NWO. Tony: “Of course not!” Heenan: “Why not? They put thirteen stitches in Horace’s head and gave him a t-shirt.” Tony: “Uh……”.

Duncum takes Jericho down and puts on a chinlock with a knee in Jericho’s back. Back up and they awkwardly collide before heading outside. Jericho hits a clothesline off the barricade followed by a springboard missile dropkick for two. We hit the chinlock from the champion now but Bobby comes back with a shoulder breaker for two of his own. A hot shot sends Duncum across the top rope and a springboard dropkick knocks him into the barricade.

Jericho whips him into the steps and puts on a front facelock back inside. A running clothesline gets two on the champion and he launches Jericho into the air for a big crash. They trade clotheslines and the Lionsault gets two for the champion but Duncum comes back with a belly to back superplex for another near fall. The Liontamer is countered and Bobby hits a Vader Bomb elbow drop for two more. Ralphus offers a distraction, allowing Jericho to hit Bobby (and clearly the referee as well) with the belt for the pin.

Rating: C. This was getting good until the lame ending. The match wasn’t bad for the most part but like I said, there was just no reason for Duncum to be in there. I’m not entirely sure why Duncum never did anything in WCW, but I’d assume it had something to do with him having a good look, size and skill in the ring.

World War 3

Chris Adams, Chris Benoit, Bobby Blaze, Ciclope, Damien, El Dandy, Barry Darsow, The Disciple, Disco Inferno, Bobby Duncum, Jr., Bobby Eaton, Mike Enos, Scott Hall, Héctor Garza, The Giant, Glacier, Juventud Guerrera, Chavo Guerrero, Jr., Eddy Guerrero, Hammer, Kenny Kaos, Kaz Hayashi, Horace Hogan, Barry Horowitz, Prince Iaukea, Chris Jericho, Kanyon

Billy Kidman, Konnan, Lenny Lane, Lex Luger, Scott Hall, Lizmark, Jr., Lodi, Dean Malenko, Steve McMichael, Ernest Miller, Chip Minton, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Kevin Nash, Scott Norton, La Parka, Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker, Psychosis, Scott Putski, Stevie Ray, The Renegade, Scotty Riggs, Perry Saturn, Silver King, Norman Smiley, Scott Steiner, Super Caló, Johnny Swinger, Booker T, Tokyo Magnum, Villano V, Vincent, Kendall Windham, Wrath and Alex Wright

Those names are in alphabetical order and the wrestlers are randomly assorted into the rings. Three rings, twenty men per ring, you can be eliminated by being thrown out of the ring through any ropes, pin or submission. You know, because a BATTLE ROYAL needed to have its rules altered. Once they get down to twenty men they’ll all be moved into one ring for the final showdown. The entrances take a LONG time as you would expect and Heenan changes his pick to Benoit.

There’s a very good chance I’m going to miss some of the eliminations as they’re only showing one ring at a time. There is however a counter on screen to keep things a bit more organized. We almost immediately get confused as WCW calls the far right ring #3 after Tony has called the middle ring #1 all night. Kevin Nash starts firing out people very early, eliminating Norman Smiley, Super Calo, Lizmark Jr., Scott Putski, and some others that the camera miss. Lenny Lane, Tokyo Magnum and Johnny Swinger are all out. Nash dumps El Dandy and we’re already down to 44.

Van Hammer baseball slides Mike Enos out but gets caught by some knees in the ribs from Big Sexy. They’re the only two men left in ring #3 and Hammer is tossed very soon, leaving us with Nash alone in ring #3 and 39 people left. That’s one less ring to have to jump to at least. We miss three more eliminations until we see Hall hit the fall away slam to eliminate Psychosis. Things are already calming down as Kanyon crotches himself on the top, allowing Kidman to throw him out.

Kaz Hayashi is out as well as Harlem Heat shrugs at each other. Giant shoves out Horace and Disciple to get us down to 30. A big group of guys go after Giant but all six of them can’t get him down. He says bring it on and it’s Disco Inferno wanting to run things. Benoit will have none of that and goes after Inferno instead. 27 left now with ring #2 having far more people in there. We miss yet another elimination and we’re somehow at 24. Scott Steiner dumps Juvy before putting Konnan in a leg lock. 21 to go until Rey misses a baseball slide to eliminate himself and get us down to the final twenty.

The final grouping is Nash, Benoit, Saturn, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Eddie Guerrero, Giant, Disco Inferno, Norton, Konnan, Luger, Hall, Booker T., Scott Steiner, Wrath, Malenko, Wright, Kidman, Miller, Ray and McMichael. Miller and Saturn get in a fight before everyone is in the ring and go outside to eliminate both guys and get us down to 18. The NWOs are in different corners while everyone else fight. Chavo hits a running cross body to Wright and both guys are out to drop the number to 16.

Kidman dropkicks Eddie out and Giant throws both Kidman and Disco out to get us to 13. Nash and Giant go at it to a BIG reaction but Scott Steiner picks Nash off to give Giant a break. Giant accidentally chops Norton and Steiner actually puts Mongo in a chinlock. Tony sums up WCW in a nutshell by saying Booker T. and Wrath are the only unaffiliated men in the ring. Apparently WCW doesn’t exist and the Horsemen are a separate entity anymore.

We go to a nice camera shot looking down at the ring (at an angle, not directly overhead) which I hope they stick with for the rest of the match. Naturally it’s gone before I can finish typing that sentence. Nash and Giant go at it again to another big pop and this time Hall helps Nash out to really get the crowd into it. Norton saves Giant from an elimination attempt as Luger dumps Stevie Ray. Mongo backdrops Norton out but Nash dumps him as well to get us down to 10.

The final ten are Giant, Nash, Wrath, Booker T., Benoit, Konnan, Hall, Malenko, Steiner and Luger. The count goes down to 9 without an elimination as Bam Bam Bigelow comes in through the crowd. Everyone goes after him to knock him back to the floor and the fans chant for Goldberg. They get what they want as Goldberg runs out for the fight. The match has completely stopped to watch the fight.

We come back to the ring to see 8 left. Tony thinks Steiner was thrown out but needs to wait for a confirmation. The idea of looking around the ring and not seeing Scott Steiner is too complicated for a guy like Schiavone I guess. We go to the shot looking down on the ring again and see Benoit, Malenko, Booker T., Nash, Giant, Luger, Konnan and Hall remaining. Goldberg and Bigelow are finally pulled apart and Bigelow is handcuffed.

Booker is quickly tossed out as everyone circles Giant. He says bring it on as Tony says Konnan, Nash and Luger are the only two members of the Wolfpack remaining. I get that he says some stupid stuff but he can’t even count? Giant shrugs everyone off as Konnan misses a charge and eliminates himself. Nash tells Luger, Hall, Malenko and Benoit to go after Giant and they’re able to get him out to get us down to five.

The Horsemen go after Hall but he knocks them back, allowing the Wolfpack to dump Malenko and Benoit and get us down to three. Luger and Nash bump fists but go to different corners. Everyone hits everyone and it’s Hall going down in the corner. He comes back with chops to Nash and the forearm puts Kevin down. Luger Racks Hall but Nash dumps both of them to win in the same ending from 1996.

Rating: D. It’s a battle royal so it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world to rate. That being said, this really wasn’t all that interesting. Nash winning isn’t a huge shock and he’s certainly not the worst choice in the world for the title shot. I’m sure we’ll get more into that at Starrcade and a certain Nitro though. The biggest problem here was the camera work. They kept going for closeups instead of either the usual shot you get watching a wrestling match or that awesome overhead shot where you could see the entire ring easily.

US Title: Bret Hart vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Bret is challenging. The brawl starts on the floor with Bret being whipped into the barricade and steps. Hart is whipped out of the ring again and goes face first into the barricade a second time. He finally comes back by snapping Page’s throat over the top rope and takes over in the ring. A DDT gets two for the Canadian and the match is already going slowly. We hit the chinlock to make things even worse.

Back up and Page grabs a swinging neckbreaker for two before they head back outside. Page is sent into the barricade to put Hart back in control. A Russian legsweep gets two back in the ring but DDP reverses a tombstone into one of his own for the same. Bret escapes a German suplex but walks into a belly to belly for two. The discus lariat drops Bret again and the Pancake is good for another near fall.

A Cactus Clothesline from Hart sends both guys outside and Bret pulls out a foreign object. Not that it matters as Page comes back in with a springboard clothesline to knock it out of his hands. Bret drops the object and the referee puts it in his pocket as Page puts on an AWFUL looking hold. The announcers call it the Sharpshooter but that’s not a Sharpshooter no matter how you look at it.

Hart comes back with a low blow and it’s time to go after the leg. Bret wraps the leg around the post and puts on the Hart Breaker as well. He cannonballs down onto the leg and puts on the regular Figure Four (wrong leg of course) until Page makes the rope. Another cannonball is countered by Page kicking Bret over the top and out to the floor. Now it’s Bret going into the steps and Page puts on a Hart Breaker around the post as well.

Page brings a chair into the ring but the referee takes it away, allowing Bret to knock Page into the referee to put both guys down. Bret takes the foreign object back as the NWO Referee comes in. Page gets decked and is out cold, setting up the Sharpshooter. The NWO Referee calls for the submission and the announcers shout that this isn’t going to stand. Another WCW referee comes in and says not so fast, allowing Page to hit the Diamond Cutter on Bret with the original referee counting the pin.

Rating: D+. This was just long. The overbooked ending works here but it felt tacked on. It easily could have been five minutes shorter and been a much better match as a result. Also that’s not really a good use for Bret (shocking I know) after the weeks of hurting so many people. Then again, it’s not like Bret was ever used properly in WCW at all.

Overall Rating: F+. The TV and Cruiserweight Title matches were acceptable but that’s about it for the night. This was a good example of a show where they clearly weren’t trying and put almost no effort into things. WCW is at a very bad point here as there’s no energy at all in the promotion and there’s nothing to get excited about. Nash vs. Goldberg doesn’t do anything for me at all but it’s Nash’s company to run at this point so what different does my opinion make?

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Monday Nitro – November 16, 1998: Preparing For War

Monday Nitro #163
Date: November 16, 1998
Location: Wichita Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas
Attendance: 13,981
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

It’s the go home show for World War 3 and most of the card isn’t known yet. We’ll get the battle royal and Mysterio vs. Guerrera for the Cruiserweight Title…and that’s about it. My guess is we’ll get a bunch of rematches from Halloween Havoc, but thankfully Hogan vs. Warrior III isn’t going to be one of them. Let’s get to it.

The announcers welcome us to the show and run down the card.

We see a motorcade coming up, meaning it’s time for more Hogan For President stuff later on. I’ll give them this: it’s something different.

Thunder – November 5, 1998: Scott Steiner Is Nuts

Thunder
Date: November 5, 1998
Location: Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall

World War 3 is a few corners away and things aren’t all that interesting at the moment. Monday wasn’t the best show in the world but it was nice to have a breather from the Hogan vs. Warrior nonsense. Bret vs. Luger seems to be building up soon but we still have to deal with all the people Bret has injured recently. Let’s get to it.

Tony and the gang welcome us to the show before congratulating Jesse Ventura for being elected Governor of Minnesota. This of course transitions to Hogan wanting to be President and officially announcing his candidacy on upcoming Nitro.

Kanyon vs. Barry Horowitz

The usual Who Better schtick gets the usual reaction so Kanyon takes out his frustration on Barry with some shots to the head and a choke. Barry’s sunset flip is countered by a right hand to the head but he avoids an elbow drop. We hit the chinlock on Kanyon for a few moments before he fights up and runs Horowitz over with a shoulder.

Barry comes back and rams him into the corner, only to be thrown into the air for a crash down onto the mat. A Rocker Dropper gets three straight two counts but Barry gets a near fall of his own while Kanyon yells at the referee. Horowitz scores with a powerbomb and some clotheslines for two, only to miss a third and get Flatlined for the pin.

Rating: C-. Shockingly decent squash here with Barry putting up a better fight than you usually see in a match like this. Kanyon was a bit lower than his usual standard here but the match was still entertaining anyway. At least the focus wasn’t on Raven being depressed the entire time as usual.

Back from a break with Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell coming to the ring. Scott says the two of them have gone from the penthouse in LA to the outhouse here in Roanoke. The women here are stuck next to their redneck boyfriends and Steiner is the way out, but the crowd doesn’t seem interested in him being their hookup. JJ can fine them all he wants but there’s no stopping Scott Steiner. The Red and Black is nothing but a bunch of copycats and Scott will take all of them out on his own, starting with Lex Luger tonight. There’s your main event.

Wolfpack shirt ad.

Savage/Sting video ads.

Alex Wright vs. Raven

Raven sits in the corner to start so Alex yells at him in German before calling Raven an uneducated American. Alex talks about how great and clean shaven he is for over a minute until Raven hits him low to start. Wright bails outside so Raven sits in the corner again. That’s the opening Wright needs and he stomps away before stopping to dance. Raven fires back with right hands but Wright nails him with a jumping kick to the face. Wright misses a charge into the ropes to put both guys down.

Lodi comes out but Disco Inferno, in bright green, runs out and nails him in the face. Kanyon appears as well to punch Disco but gets suplexed by Wright. Raven heads outside for the brawl but gets rammed into the barricade and apron (Marshall, as Raven’s hands are on the ring apron: “We’re back to two people but they’re nowhere near the ring!”). Back in and Raven goes up top, shoves Wright down…and walks away for the countout.

Rating: D+. This was much more story development than wrestling. Normally that’s fine but this story is getting overly complicated in a hurry. To be fair that’s what happened with Raven and Saturn earlier this year and things worked out pretty well. This was barely a match but a fired up Raven was interesting.

Tony brings out Jericho for another chat. Jericho names his personal security guard as Ralphus and says he’s the most dangerous man alive. Tony has accused him of disrespecting Greenberg, but he’s just a better champion than Goldberg. He’s the TV Champion and a lot of people watch TV, making him the better champion. Jericho claims a 4-0 record against Goldberg and challenges Goldberg to break that streak. Again, this is as easy of a payoff as you can ask for.

Fit Finlay vs. Booker T

They circle each other for a good while before Booker takes over with a headlock. He takes Finlay down with a shoulder block but gets taken down into a reverse chinlock. Some European uppercuts from the European give him control and he hammers on Booker’s chest for a bit. Off to a chinlock until Booker fights up and hits the forearm and kick to the face for two. A spinwheel kick followed by a belly to back suplex set up the Harlem Sidekick but Finlay breaks up the missile dropkick. Fit sends him into the corner but gets caught in a spinning sunset flip for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: D+. Not much here but it keeps Booker back on the screen after his return on Monday. A win over Finlay doesn’t mean all that much but it’s better than beating a jobber. Booker is in a weird place here as he’s too big for the TV Title again but the US Title is firmly in NWO/main event land and there’s no way he’s getting there anytime soon.

The announcers preview the rest of the show and introduce Konnan’s music video.

The Cat comes out for an open challenge and is answered but Kaz Hayashi but Glacier returns to answer it instead. Actually scratch that as Glacier says he’s here because he has Miller’s back. No one in WCW is going to take them seriously because they’re karate guys, but he takes Miller seriously. Oh joy indeed.

Horace vs. Norman Smiley

Smiley doesn’t even get an entrance. Horace pounds on him in the corner to start before nailing a hard shoulder and elbow drop. Another shoulder puts Norman on the floor so Vincent can get in a few shots. Back in and a belly to back suplex sets up a brainbuster to squash Norman.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Before the match Eddie offers Rey a spot in the LWO for a third time but Mysterio still isn’t interested. However Rey is forced to join if he loses tonight for no specified reason. Heenan brings up a good question: what good is it to have a man in your organization if they don’t want to be there? Rey speeds things up to starta nd hits a nice headscissors followed by an armdrag. Eddie backdrops him to the apron but gets sent into the corner by another headscissors.

Mysterio rams him into three buckles but gets caught in an atomic drop, allowing Eddie to dropkick the knee out. He puts on a leg lock as we take a break. Back with the hold still on as it looks like nothing has changed at all. Eddie ties Mysterio in the Tree of Woe but misses a charge to crotch himself against the post Curt Hennig style.

Rey pulls himself to the top and hits a seated senton off the top to the floor. He comes up limping even more but is still able to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Rey heads to the top again for a top rope hurricanrana, only to injure the knee again. Guerrero takes Rey’s knee brace off and puts on a leg hold as the LWO walks to the ring. Not that it matters though as the time limit expires at about seven minutes.

Rating: C+. It’s not quite Halloween Havoc 1997 but it’s still Guerrero vs. Mysterio. These two had a natural chemistry together and the matches were almost always a success. This worked quite well with Rey trying to fly but the knee just not holding up well enough. Eddie having a hold on before the time limit ran out was a nice touch as well.

The LWO wants to attack Rey but Eddie holds them back.

Ad for World War 3.

TV Title: Prince Iaukea vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending of course. The announcers ignore Iaukea taking over with a clothesline to talk about the Hogan For President stuff, which to be fair is more interesting for a change. They trade quick takedowns until Iaukea nails a palm strike to the chest. The referee isn’t cool with that for some reason and the argument allows Jericho to take over with a hot shot. A suplex sets up the Arrogant two count and we hit the chinlock.

Jericho nails a seated dropkick but charges into a foot in the corner. The announcers actually acknowledge the match for a bit before talking about anything else. A superkick drops Jericho again but Iaukea misses a dropkick. Jericho loads up the Lionsault but hits knees and gives the Prince two. Back up and Iaukea nails a Samoan drop and a slingshot hilo, only to have a victory roll countered into the Liontamer to retain the title.

Rating: C. Better match than I was expecting here with both guys looking good for the most part. Iaukea certainly wasn’t bad in the ring most of the time but he just wasn’t interesting at all. Even when Jericho was going after him with the Prince Makamakey stuff it only worked to a degree. Nice match here though.

Scott Hall vs. Disco Inferno

For once in his life, Disco shows some intelligence by running from the five NWO members around the ring. Giant stops him from running though and Disco panicking is rather amusing. The big man sends Disco back into the ring and Hall just destroys him with his signature stuff. He hooks the abdominal stretch and messes with Disco’s hair, which is actually enough to fire Disco up. Inferno comes back with a running neckbreaker but Norton trips him up, setting up the Outsider’s Edge for the pin.

Tony brings out the Horsemen for a chat to really wake the crowd up. No Mongo in sight however. Anderson sums up the NWO in a nutshell: it just took six of them to beat the Disco Inferno. He lists off some of the NWO members and all of their talents, but it makes him wonder why Bischoff is being silent. Let’s stop the waiting and have the NWO vs. the Horsemen in the fight everyone wants to see.

Dean says he hasn’t been in Roanoke in twenty years but he remembers watching his father wrestle in this building. Right now the Horsemen need to make Chris Benoit healthy again so he can get back in the ring. Benoit says Roanoke is a great Horsemen town and tells Bischoff to quit prolonging reality. He needs to wake up from the dream world of this, meaning the NWO hand signal, when it’s about to wake up to the reality of the four fingers (it looked far cooler when you can see the hand signals).

Flair goes on a rant about Jesse Ventura becoming Governor and how Jesse is all about respect. If Flair has to waltz around the ring with Aretha Franklin, she’ll sing Respect to Bischoff. Flair tells Bischoff to look at his girlfriend and makes some suggestions involving pelvic thrusts. It’s another awesome Horsemen promo, but it needs to lead to something soon.

Scott Steiner vs. Lex Luger

It’s after 10pm so this isn’t going to last long. Before the match, Scott gets in Nick Patrick’s face and yells at Nick for what he did at Halloween Havoc. Patrick says he was just doing his job and gets beaten up for his efforts. Scott wraps Nick’s leg around the post but Luger runs out for the save. They brawl for a bit as the medical staff comes out with a stretcher. Scott sees what’s going on and heads outside to beat on Patrick even more.

Luger gets sent into the barricade and Buff chokes Luger with his own shirt. Steiner stays on Lex with various choking techniques but Lex finally makes a comeback. He hits his usual stuff before Racking Steiner, drawing out Mickey Jay as a replacement referee. Not that it matters as Buff breaks things up, allowing Scott to beat up Mickey as well. Rick Steiner runs out for the save to end this mess as well as the show. It wasn’t really a match if that wasn’t clear.

Overall Rating: C. I’ve seen worse episodes but this didn’t do much for me. We’ll go with right in the middle as this was such a middle of the road show. There were good and bad matches, but nothing was really advanced. Much like most episodes of Thunder, there’s no need to watch this at all.

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Monday Nitro – November 2, 1998: The March To War

Monday Nitro #161
Date: November 2, 1998
Location: National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko

Things actually aren’t that bad for WCW right now as we’re heading into World War 3 and then Starrcade. The main stories at the moment are of course more Warrior vs. Hogan and Bret vs. Page for the US Title. The execution of the stories last week wasn’t horrible and the episode was much easier to sit through than usual. Let’s get to it.

We open with a World War 3 ad, which I believe is the first mention of the show.

Alex Wright vs. Norman Smiley

Norman gets caught in a wristlock and something resembling a northern lights suplex for no cover. Smiley pops back up and gets one off a cross body followed by a wind-up slam. Back up and Wright hits a nice running forearm but stops to dance instead of following up. We get a Tree of Woe from Alex so he can stomp at Norman’s chest before missing a charge into another corner. The announcers talk about World War 3 as Norman hits a nice delayed butterfly suplex. A legdrop gets two on Wright and Norman goes up, only to get superplexed down. Wright adds a neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating: D+. It’s the same story we’ve seen multiple times now and it’s still going nowhere. At the end of the day there are only about five European wrestlers on the WCW roster at this point so beating them over and over again doesn’t really do much for Wright. Not a terrible match but it doesn’t mean anything.

Opening sequence.

The Nitro Girls dance with WCW Revenge boxes. That game rocked.

Disco Inferno vs. Kaz Hayashi

Kaz doesn’t care for dancing and hammers away to start, only to have his head taken off by a hard clothesline. Disco misses a charge in the corner and gets taken outside by a nice headscissors followed by a great looking dive. Back in and Kaz gets two off a high cross body, only to walk into a suplex for two.

The dancing elbow gets the same but a second attempt misses, allowing Kaz to nail a dropkick followed by a moonsault for two. Sonny Onoo comes down the aisle. Disco goes up top, only to get caught in a nice superplex. Onoo distracts Kaz and gets chased, only to have Disco catch him coming back in with the piledriver for the pin.

Rating: C-. Far better match than I was expecting here though I’m not sure why we’re supposed to care about Sonny Onoo. He’s left Hayashi and is hanging out with Ernest Miller at the moment, which doesn’t exactly have me on the edge of my seat. Hayashi’s big dives looked good here though.

Gene brings out the returning Booker T to a nice ovation. Booker is glad to be back but needs to talk about Stevie Ray joining the NWO. He loves his brother and respects his decision, but it’s Stevie’s decision alone and Booker won’t be joining. Booker calls out Scott Hall for a match tonight, saying it was Hall that put him out of action a few months ago. Actual continuity. I’m stunned.

Scott Putski vs. Fit Finlay

Basic stuff to start with Putski taking Finlay down with a hiptoss. Finlay avoids an elbow and they head outside with the Irishman dropping Scott with a clothesline. A knee drop keeps him in trouble and they head back inside. Putski scores with some right hands and a powerslam but he misses the Polish Hammer (double ax handle to the chest). Finlay nails the rolling fireman’s carry and the tombstone is good for the pin on Putski.

Raven whines about his losing streak when Kanyon comes in. He asks if Raven is going to jump off a building but Raven sends him away.

We get clips of Jericho beating “Goldberg” over the last few weeks.

Ernest Miller, now with Sonny Onoo, comes out to make an open challenge to anyone in the back.

Ernest Miller vs. Scott Armstrong

Armstrong jumps the Cat two seconds into Miller’s five count and nails him with a dropkick. Not that it matters as Miller whips him into the corner and hits the Feliner for the pin at maybe 35 seconds.

Post match Miller chokes even more until Steve Armstrong comes out for the save, only to get kicked down as well.

Wrath vs. Kendall Windham

I don’t picture this lasting long. Wrath takes him into the corner and hammers away before no selling an elbow to the jaw. A side suplex drops Kendall and Wrath no sells a neckbreaker. Wrath drills Kendall with a shoulder block and the Meltdown is good for the pin.

Video on Bret injuring DDP and Sting recently.

Here’s a limping Bret for a chat with Gene. He’s had fun hurting people lately but he’s suffered a pulled groin and won’t be able to fight Luger tonight. Gene claims to have seen Bret moving around just fine in the back but Bret cuts him off and calls this a blessing for Luger. Lex himself comes out to the ring and calls Bret a liar before clotheslining him out of the ring. Gene gets taken out as well before Luger pulls Bret back in the ring for a Rack.

Tony complains about having to see Flair humiliated last week. However, Eric is making him show clips of Bash at the Beach 1994 with Hogan beating Flair in a title vs. career match.

Here are the Horsemen in the ring. Arn is tired of hearing Bischoff’s garbage and the NWO vs. Horsemen has to happen soon. Bischoff wouldn’t understand any of this because wrestling is a man’s game. Anderson wants to fight right now but first Ric has something to say. Bischoff can play all the tapes he wants but Flair will get every bit of the respect when he walks down that aisle. Malenko is in the back getting ready for a match so Benoit and Mongo get in their own jabs at Bischoff as well.

Hour #2 begins.

Nitro Girls video.

Nitro Girls.

Nitro Party winner.

Scott Norton vs. Van Hammer

Norton chops him into the corner and nails a splash before sending Van Hammer to the floor with a splash. Back in and Van Hammer grabs a quick Cobra Clutch slam, only to walk into a Samoan drop and a powerbomb to give Norton the pin.

We get a clip of JJ Dillon getting beaten up last week.

Bret Hart gets his ribs taped up.

Back in the arena with Saturn calling out Eddie Guerrero so he can prove he can beat Eddie after last week.

Saturn vs. Eddie Guerrero

Guerrero comes out but gets stomped down into the corner. Saturn hits a face first wheelbarrow slam as we have a referee in now. A quick brainbuster drops Saturn but he’s able to run up the ropes and suplex Guerrero down for two. Saturn nails a top rope legdrop and a falcon’s arrow but the LWO runs in for a fast DQ.

Konnan comes in to break up the fight but pulls Saturn back as well. He says Eddie is just like Raven with the Flock and not worth it. Eddie says he’s Raza and calls out Konnan for hanging out with the Anglo Wolfpack.

Scott Steiner vs. Kenny Kaos

No match as JJ comes out and says not so fast. Scott freaks out and shoves him, sending JJ running to the back.

JJ comes back out and says he has something to say…..and we immediately go to a break. What the heck was that?

We come back with a video on the Nitro Girls.

Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

The announcers talk about having to control Scott Steiner and make no mention of what JJ was going to say. They circle each other to start until Rey takes him down with a wristlock. Psychosis comes back with a wrist drag until they slug it out. Rey cartwheels onto Psychosis’ shoulders and sends him outside with a hurricanrana. Back in and Rey hammers on the horned masked man in the corner but gets countered into a sitout powerbomb to change control.

Rey is sent outside and a BIG slingshot legdrop crushes him even more. Back in and we hit the chinlock from Psychosis for a bit before he throws Mysterio in the air for a big crash. Rey avoids a charge in the corner and comes back with a springboard seated senton for two. Psychosis nails a sitout front suplex for two of his own followed by a top rope Frankensteiner for the same.

After avoiding a dropkick, Rey ties Psychosis’ legs into the ropes and bounces off the top rope into a moonsault onto the elevated Psychosis. Cool looking move. Psychosis tries to throw him into the air again but gets pulled down into an X Factor. The LWO is in the aisle for a distraction, allowing Psychosis to counter a middle rope Frankensteiner into a powerbomb for the surprise pin.

Rating: C+. This was your usual take two cruiserweights and let them fly around for a few minutes. Both guys were on their game out there and the match worked very well. It’s also nice to see the LWO get a pin over a big name instead of just running in for a DQ like they’ve been doing for the last few weeks.

Jericho comes out to rant about Goldberg a bit. He respects the champion and has a very successful football career of his own. Gene: “You do?” Jericho: “Details later.” Jericho makes fun of Goldberg’s football career and wishes him the best in the future. Funny as always.

Hour #3 begins.

Raven vs. Dean Malenko

The announcers talk about Raven’s losing streak as he allows Dean to hit him in the face. You don’t have to ask a Horsemen twice so Malenko hammers him down into the corner. A low blow slows Dean down but he drives Raven through the ropes to counter the Even Flow. Lodi comes out to ringside but Mongo runs out to beat him with a belt and chase him off. Back in and Raven hits the drop toehold into the chair for a delayed two.

Raven loads up the chair in the corner but Dean sends him into the corner instead. Dean recovers but Raven doesn’t seem interested in getting up. Some suplexes put Raven down and a spinebuster breaks up another Even Flow attempt. Kanyon comes out but Dean whips Raven into him for two. Benoit comes out to chop Kanyon but the “injured” Bret Hart comes out to beat up Benoit, allowing Kanyon to run in for the DQ……in a Raven’s Rules match where a low blow and chair were legal just a few minutes earlier.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t bad and Raven has some interesting stuff going on with the depression over losing the Flock. Bret running in didn’t help much but heels lying in WCW is what you expect anymore. I’ll give WCW credit for one thing though: they managed to have four people run in during a six minute match.

Bret put Benoit in a hammerlock until Luger comes out for the save. Hart immediately claims injured ribs but the Giant comes out to save Bret. Giant says he’ll fight Luger tonight.

TV Title: Billy Kidman vs. Chris Jericho

Only Jericho’s title is on the line here so I’ll only refer to Jericho as the champion. Jericho takes him into the corner to start and waves to the crowd before the trade wristlocks. That goes nowhere so Kidman dropkicks him out to the apron before cranking on the arm again. Jericho whips him out to the floor and Kidman lands hard on his back. A suplex gets an Arrogant two but Jericho is whipped hard into the corner and a clothesline puts him down.

The champion doesn’t seem to mind as he throws Kidman into the air and slams him face first onto the mat in a big crash. Jericho bends Kidman’s back across his knee before nailing a running dropkick in the corner. Chris goes up but dives onto Kidman’s feet to give Billy control. A lifting powerbomb gets two on Jericho but Chris counters a victory roll into a Liontamer attempt.

That doesn’t work so Jericho catapults Kidman face first into the buckle. Jericho’s powerbomb is countered into a facebuster but the Shooting Star mostly hits mat. Kidman comes right back with a rollup for two before just pounding on Jericho’s back. Chris bails to the floor but gets caught with a plancha to put both guys down. Back in and Kidman hits a high cross body as the time limit runs out at about eight and a half minutes.

Rating: B-. Another good match here as you would expect from these two. Kidman is just awesome right now and Jericho is Jericho. I’m not sure why only the TV Title was on the line here but it let Kidman throw everything he had at Jericho because he had nothing to lose. Fun stuff here but it’s probably just a one off match.

Here are JJ Dillon and Kaos with something to say. JJ has fined Buff $50,000 and Scott $100,000, which brings out an angry Scott. So how can you tell if it affected him or not? Scott goes on a rant about how no one can stop him and demands Kaos get out here right now. Kaos comes down and Buff barely bothers with the sincerity nonsense before the NWO lays him out. More WCW people looking stupid here.

Scott Hall vs. Booker T.

This is Booker’s return after being out with a knee injury. Hall does the survey and attacks Booker as he gets into the ring. Booker shrugs it off and hits a quick forearm followed by a hot shot. A side kick sends Hall to the floor but his eyes are clear this week. Back in and Booker scores with a clothesline followed by a back elbow to the jaw. Booker hits his hook kick out of a wristlock but walks into a fall away slam.

They head outside with Hall in control. He rams Booker back first into the apron and they’re quickly back inside. Booker’s right hands stagger Hall for a bit but he misses a dropkick to put Scott right back in control. A sleeper goes nowhere so Hall clotheslines Booker down, only to duck his head and get caught by an ax kick. Back up and the side kick nails Hall again but he pulls the referee in the way of the missile dropkick. The Outsider’s Edge is countered but another referee runs in to call for the DQ, giving Booker the win.

Rating: C-. Not a horrible match and it’s nice to see Booker win, even if it’s not by pin. The fact that he came back and got a match with a big star like Hall instead of dropping down the card is a really good sign for his future. The match wasn’t great or anything but it gives me hope for the future.

Giant vs. Lex Luger

As mentioned, Giant is substituting for an “injured” Bret Hart. We open with a posedown before Giant takes him into the corner. Luger avoids a chop and hammers away but Giant shoves him down and drops a huge elbow. A Russian legsweep drops Luger, prompting Tony to talk about what wrestlers think of Russian legsweeps. Is that something wrestlers regularly talk about in the back?

Giant stands on Luger’s throat as the fans chant for Goldberg. Luger’s throat is snapped across the top rope as the match is in slow motion. Giant shoves him around but Luger starts getting fired up. The clotheslines stagger Giant and Luger slams him down. There’s the forearm but Bret runs in with a piece of barricade for the DQ.

Rating: D. I didn’t get into this one as it felt like they were just filling in time. Based on everything we’ve seen tonight it was obvious that Bret would be running in and it didn’t make for a good match to sit there waiting on the interference. Luger didn’t get to show off his power either which is the best thing about his matches.

Post match Bret puts Luger in the Sharpshooter but Goldberg comes out. He spears Giant and loads up one on Bret but hits Luger instead to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. There are some good matches on here but the show felt like a filler episode. That’s likely going to be the case for the next few weeks as a battle royal can only have so many stories during the buildup to the show. Hogan and Warrior being gone was a nice break though and one that has been needed for a long time.

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Newest Hall of Fame Member Announced

That makes seven for this year.It’s Scott Hall, who actually belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Thunder – October 29, 1998: Taped Doesn’t Mean Bad

Thunder
Date: October 29, 1998
Location: Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

Halloween Havoc is over and the main story coming out of Monday is Bret Hart losing the US Title to Diamond Dallas Page. Unfortunately this is one of those taped Thunders so we’re not going to get much of anything as far as high level storyline development. God bless the midcard I guess. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about how great Nitro was and tell us of two title matches tonight.

Wrath vs. Van Hammer

It’s strange to see Wrath in there with someone his own size. Wrath shoves him into the corner and hammers away with various strikes. Hammer blocks a whip into the corner by putting his boot up to stop himself. An elbow to the jaw drops Hammer and they head to the floor with Wrath sending him into the barricade. Back in and Wrath hits a top rope forearm but Hammer comes back with chops and punches in the corner. A powerslam gets two on Wrath but he Hulks Up and hits the Meltdown for the pin.

Rating: D. I guess Van Hammer is an upgrade for his size but Wrath is still just squashing jobbers. Why he got one shot at Jericho and never did anything else with him is beyond me but the Meltdown looked good. Wrath is getting stronger and stronger reactions from the crowd so points for WCW for making something work.

Clips of Alex Wright vs. Finlay.

Finlay vs. Alex Wright

Because the world was waiting on the third match in this series. Wright hides in the ropes until Finlay goes over and gives him a clean break. Finlay cranks on the arm but Alex comes back with some uppercuts and a slingshot belly to back suplex. Some dancing allows Finlay to take over with his own European uppercuts before working on the legs as this is already dragging. The announcers pick things up a bit by talking about Finlay breaking Alex’s father’s leg back in the day.

Alex tries to run but Finlay easily catches him and wraps the leg around the post. Back up and Wright falls down so we hit the leg lock again. A knee drop and kick to the leg in the corner have Wright in trouble but he cartwheels away from a whip. Why don’t more people use that instead of getting whipped across the ring? Alex bails outside but snaps Finlay across the top rope and scores with a missile dropkick. Since this match hasn’t gone on long enough, Finlay is knocked into the referee….but he grabs Wright for a tombstone and Nick Patrick counts the pin.

Rating: C-. The leg work was good as the announcers pushed the idea that Finlay was trying to do the same thing to Alex that he did to the father. Unfortunately at the end of the day this is the third match these two have had in two and a half weeks and any interest in that story is long gone.

We look at JJ getting beaten up on Nitro.

Tuff Tom vs. Disciple

Oh yeah they’re not even trying tonight. Disciple throws him to the floor to start but has to deal with Mean Mark. Shame it’s not Mean Mark Callous to make this the slightest bit interesting. Back in and Tom hits a neckbreaker on Disciple for no effect. After a slam it’s the world’s slowest Stunner to pin Tom.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko

Feeling out process to start despite these two knowing each other so well. Eddie grabs the arm before switching to the leg and taking Dean to the mat. We get the always cool lightning fast technical exchange with both guys getting near falls and trading quickly broken holds. That leads us to a stalemate and we take a break.

Back with Eddie escaping a monkey flip but getting slammed down and chinlocked. Guerrero fights up and scores with a headscissors and dropkick to the side of the head. Dean pops back up and suplexes Eddie down and right into the chinlock again. Guerrero fights up just as easily as he did the first time and hits a belly to back suplex of his own. The control doesn’t last long again as Dean just throws Eddie into the air for a big crash down to the mat. A Cloverleaf attempt sends Guerrero running outside and the match takes a breather.

Dean hammers on Eddie in the corner but gets sent into the corner to change control again. A brainbuster puts Dean down but Eddie spends too much time yelling at the crowd and gets superplexed down to put both guys on the mat. Eddie is up first and sends Malenko to the floor. They trade whips into the barricade before heading back inside for a quick surfboard from Eddie. That goes nowhere so we hit the quick rollups again. Dean hammers away in the corner but here’s the LWO for the DQ.

Rating: B. This was getting awesome at the end but the stupid ending hurts it. At least we got a solid match with some length here, even though we had to miss three and a half minutes of it for the commercial. Van Hammer, Finlay and Disciple get full matches, but these two get their cut. Naturally.

The Horsemen come out for the save.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Disco Inferno

Disco is challenging and grabs the mic before the match. He reminds Jericho that he’s a former two time TV Champion and Jericho needs to respect that. Therefore, Jericho should just wrap the title around Disco’s waist right now and be done with this. Jericho pulls the belt back to hit Disco in the face but winds up putting it around his waist instead. He raises Inferno’s hand and then clotheslines him down to get things going.

The referee takes the belt away from Jericho and Disco grabs a neckbreaker and rollup for two each. Jericho comes back with a hot shot and suplex for an Arrogant two. We hit the chinlock on Disco as the announcers talk about Chavo Guerrero challenging Kidman tonight. Disco gets up a boot in the corner but Jericho does the exact same thing a few moments later. The champion goes up but dives into a boot, giving Disco one more chance. A middle rope clothesline gets two on Jericho but he counters the piledriver into the Liontamer to retain.

Rating: C. Both guys looked decent out there and they were able to get the crowd going with their various antics. Disco still isn’t much to see but he was amusing enough. Jericho is still acting a bit more like a face out there and he’s still working as well as you would expect him to.

Cruiserweight Title: Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chavo is challenging. After Chavo spends a good deal of time talking with Pepe, he asks the referee to check Kidman for foreign objects. Chavo gets checked as well and doesn’t seem to mind before we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start until Chavo dropkicks Kidman out to the floor and celebrates with the horse. Back in and Kidman takes over with a headscissors and stomps away in the corner. Things are picking up so the announcers start talking about Horace turning on Warrior.

A running clothesline out of the corner gets two for the champion and a springboard legdrop gets the same. We hit the headlock on the challenger for a few moments but Kidman charges into a boot in the corner. Chavo nails a good looking spinwheel kick and gets two off a German suplex, only get caught in the lifting powerbomb. Back up and Chavo dropkicks Kidman into the ropes before hitting a middle rope bulldog for two. They trade forearms to the jaw and Guerrero goes up for a sunset flip but Kidman escapes into a rollup for the pin to retain.

Rating: C+. Another nice match here with both guys looking crisp out there. Chavo was good at balancing the insanity with the in ring work to make for an entertaining match. He would be even better once he dropped the horse nonsense but it wasn’t bad for the most part. Kidman was great as always.

Post match the LWO runs in and destroys Chavo until Eddie says his nephew has to earn his LWO colors. The LWO leaves and Chavo wants to start the PWO.

We look at Warrior talking about the pinfall meaning nothing at Halloween Havoc.

Villano V vs. The Cat

Miller does the five seconds thing and gets dropkicked at the count of five. The control lsts all of a few seconds until Miller superkicks him down. Villano gets choked and sidekicked again but comes back with a knee to the ribs. A quick backsplash gets two on Miller but he comes back with the Feliner for the pin.

Scott Hall vs. Steve Armstrong

No Survey tonight but we do get the toothpick toss. Steve takes him down to the mat with a nice leg trip and grabs a headlock. Armstrong escapes a hammerlock and slaps Hall in the face. Hall takes him into the corner for choking and stomping as the match becomes what you would expect. Two straight Outsider’s Edges are enough for the pin.

Rating: D. Not much for this one here as you would expect. Hall wasn’t playing drunk here so it wasn’t as uncomfortable as usual. I’m not sure how much there is to this, but one report I read on this show says Armstrong actually won the match and then this ending was filmed. I’d assume it was just something special for the live crowd and the editing covered up any changes they made.

Clips of Page taking the US Title from Bret.

Giant vs. Raven

Kanyon doesn’t want Raven to do this but Raven isn’t listening. Giant throws Raven around with ease but misses a charge in the corner. Not that it matters as he kicks Rave out to the floor. The average sized guy gets Giant to chase him and scores with a baseball slide but his plancha is caught in midair. Raven manages to escape and send Giant into the post before blasting him in the back with a chair. Kanyon slides in a table and Raven kicks Giant low as he gets in the ring. Giant shrugs it off and chokeslams Raven through the table for the easy pin.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a much better show than usual as the wrestling easily carried the night. It’s not a great show or anything and there was no storyline advancement but that’s ok for a change. When you get so much stuff on Nitro, it’s nice to have a basic and well done wrestling show instead.

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Monday Nitro – October 26, 1998: WCW Needs A Map

Monday Nitro #160
Date: October 26, 1998
Location: America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan

Halloween Havoc is over and not a lot has changed. Hogan beat Warrior in one of the worst matches of all time, Goldberg kept the World Title in a good match over Diamond Dallas Page, Rick Steiner is still an idiot (though he won the Tag Team Titles in one of the only changes) and Nash walked away instead of beating Hall. We’re four weeks away from World War 3 which will set up Starrcade. Let’s get to it.

We open with stills of Bret vs. Sting from last night.

Nitro Girls.

Tony talks about the overrun from last night, saying about 10-20% of the houses didn’t see the end of Hogan vs. Warrior or the title match. WCW has held meetings all day and came up with two options. One would be giving away the replay for free. Quote: “No. A lot of fans bought the show and saw all eleven matches. We don’t want to give the whole thing away for free.” Nice to see them just say “we want your money instead of making it right.”

Therefore tonight at 9pm we’re going to see the World Title match in full. Tony insists this isn’t a ratings ploy and proves it by saying the match will start at 9pm rather than the end of the show. Why not have a meeting to find out who decided Tony should say this on air and have them listen to how stupid it sounded? Larry says sometimes technology is out of control and just wait until the KY2 bug hits.

Alex Wright vs. Stevie Ray

Stevie has dubbed himself the enforcer of the NWO. He runs over Kaos to start and yells at the camera before kicking Kenny in the face. Stevie misses an elbow drop as Tony drones on about the technical issues. Kaos hits a springboard shoulder block for two but here’s Buff to throw Stevie the Slap Jack. Kaos is knocked out and the Slap Jack is enough for the pin.

Rick Steiner comes in for the save as Tony says Rick single handed won the titles. “It’s one of those things you only see when you watch a WCW pay per view.” I wouldn’t be bragging about what you get when you watch a show at this point Tony. Rick grabs the mic and says he has to pick a partner, so if Kenny is interested in some revenge, he can be a partner if he wants. Kaos says his partner is out with an injury and it would be an honor to defend the titles with Rick. This was always a bizarre choice to me as Kaos just lost a match and had no history at all, so let’s make him a champion. Even the replay shows him getting pinned.

Opening sequence.

Kanyon vs. Prince Iaukea

Raven is with Kanyon as Tony talks about the World Title match replay for about the 6^th time so far. However, even though it was cut as well, we’re not going to see the end of Hogan vs. Warrior because “it was too disgusting to show on television.” He’s talking about Hogan failing to light Warrior on fire (the second time he couldn’t get it to work if you’re counting), which happened after the match. These jokes are writing themselves tonight.

Kanyon does his schtick before the match and jumps Iaukea when he doesn’t get the response he wants. Tony says they can’t show you the ending to the Hogan match and Tenay adds that it’s not up to TNT standards. Kanyon gets two off a rollup and puts on a chinlock until Iaukea sends him to the floor. The Prince goes up top and dives at Kanyon, despite him standing four feet from where Prince aimed. Prince backdrops out of a piledriver on the steps to get the announcers talking about the match for the first time. Back in and a springboard flip attack gets two on Kanyon but he grabs the Flatliner for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was better than I was expecting but at the end of the day, Prince Iaukea isn’t going to win a match on Nitro at this point. The flip dive did look cool but there are a ton of guys on this roster that can do the exact same thing. It’s always nice to see Kanyon get a win as well.

The Nitro Girls are at the announcers’ desk.

Gene calls the Horsemen to the ring. There’s no Mongo in sight and Flair says he was a casualty in Vegas but will be back by the end of the night. That’s an odd statement. Gene finds it interesting that Bischoff isn’t trying to keep the Horsemen off TV but here’s Bischoff in person. He says he’ll admit if he’s wrong, and he underestimated how much Flair means to all of these people. The fans clearly want to see him wrestle and that’s what Flair will be doing tonight. Flair says line them up and he’ll be ready in ten minutes.

Nitro Party winner from Hampton, Virginia.

The announcers talk about some of the other big matches last night and show us stills of Nash vs. Hall.

Alex Wright vs. Barry Horowitz

Wright takes him down with ease to start but charges into an elbow in the corner. A jumping kick to the face puts Barry down and Alex goes up, only to jump into a boot. Barry gets dropkicked off the top and a great looking neckbreaker gives Wright the win.

We look at stills from Hogan vs. Warrior. Of course this is ok to talk about but Heaven forbid we show it.

Wrath vs. Sick Boy

Sick Boy actually drops Wrath with a spinwheel kick but Wrath chops him back into the corner. Wrath puts on a chinlock before throwing Sick Boy out to the floor. A slingshot shoulder block gets two on Sick Boy but he comes back with a suplex into a swinging neckbreaker. Wrath completely no sells it to complete the squash.

Hour #2 begins so here’s Goldberg vs. Page. I don’t feel like watching this match twice in four days so this is copied and pasted from the Halloween Havoc review.

WCW World Title: Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Page charges right at him a few times and is easily shoved away. An armdrag frustrates Goldberg and they lock up before falling to the floor without breaking it up. Back in and Page tries a legsweep but Goldberg does a standing backflip to avoid it. Men his size should not be able to do that. A bad looking cross armbreaker has Page in trouble and Goldberg shoves him out of the ring to block the Diamond Cutter.

Back in and Page takes him down into a hammerlock but a hard shoulder block puts him on the floor. Page is able to snap Goldberg’s throat across the top rope and he follows up with a swinging neckbreaker. A Russian legsweep gets two and we hit a front facelock. Goldberg knees his way out of it and hits a spinning neckbreaker to put Page down. A hard hiptoss puts Page down and a side slam gets two for the champion. Back to the cross armbreaker but Page makes the rope.

A superkick sends Page flying but he sidesteps the spear, sending Goldberg hard into the post. Page gets two off a flying clothesline and the running DDT puts the champion down as well. He calls for the Diamond Cutter but Goldberg nails him with the spear. It injures his arm though and Goldberg can’t get the Jackhammer. Page slips behind him and grabs the Diamond Cutter but both guys are down. The fans are suddenly WAY into this as Page gets a very close two. Page tries a suplex of his own but Goldberg counters into the Jackhammer to retain the title.

Rating: B. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s definitely Goldberg’s best match ever. The fans were buying into Page as a threat at the end of the match and that’s more than can be said about the vast majority of Goldberg’s opponents. To put it simply, this was a good wrestling match. You can’t often say that about a WCW main event but that’s what you had here.

Goldberg helps Page up post match and poses to end the show.

The announcers praise the match.

Gene goes to Kevin Nash’s huge locker room to ask him about leaving Hall laying last night and walking out on the match. Hall himself comes in and Nash says it wasn’t about winning and losing. He’ll win when Hall is his friend again. The audio keeps cutting in and out. Hall says something I can’t make out but they shake hands, only to have Giant sneak in (unless there’s another door to that room, Giant was somehow hiding in there and Nash never saw him) and help Hall throw Nash through a wall in a good visual.

Nitro Girls video.

Nitro Girls dance.

WCW likes UNICEF.

Here’s the NWO with Hogan looking thrilled. Bischoff talks about how great his life is and presents Horace his shirt as the newest member of the team. Hollywood throws in the weightlifting belt and it’s a big celebration. Somehow this takes almost six minutes.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Saturn

Feeling out process to start until Eddie takes him down by the arm. Saturn comes back with an armdrag but Eddie complains of a hair pull. The distraction lets Eddie take him down and stomp away at Saturn’s knee. A backbreaker gets two for Eddie but he gets caught in a sitout wheelbarrow slam for two by Saturn. Eddie’s tornado DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex for two more but Eddie escapes a vertical suplex into a rollup for yet another near fall. Saturn comes back with a t-bone suplex and a brainbuster but the LWO runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining as expected and the ending actually does something with the LWO for a change. Until now they’ve all just been wearing the same shirt without actually accomplishing anything. I’d like to see more of this pairing and a finish but this advanced something.

The LWO, including a new unnamed member, lay out Saturn so Eddie can hit a frog splash.

Judy Bagwell is here to talk about how bad her son has been lately. Gene goes through the horrible things Buff have done lately and the Bagwell Family is tired of it. She loves Marcus but is tired of Buff. This was received about as well as you would expect.

Tag Team Titles: Kenny Kaos/Rick Steiner vs. Giant/Stevie Ray

Steiner and Kaos are defending. Kaos goes after Stevie to start but Giant adds in a kick from the apron. A superkick drops Kenny and the NWO takes over. Off to Giant for a bearhug but Kenny gets over to the corner and makes the tag to Rick. Giant splashes Rick in the corner and chokes with a boot but charges into a boot from Rick. A top rope shoulder gets two on Giant but he launches Rick to the floor on a kickout. Stevie gets the tag and Kaos distracts Giant long enough for Rick to bulldog Ray for the pin to retain.

Rating: D. At the end of the day, Kaos just doesn’t fit in here. It’s like they drew a name out of a bowl and made him a Tag Team Champion. The match wasn’t any good either as it was Kaos being treated like the jobber that he was and Rick hitting a quick move to keep the titles.

Hour #3 begins.

Eric Bischoff has replaced Tenay on commentary and promises the best of Ric Flair tonight. He has a video package of Hogan beating up Flair from Bash at the Beach 1994 for the title. Tony praises Hogan and calls Flair a coward but is embarrassed by what he said. Bischoff says it’s proof that Flair will always play second fiddle to Hogan.

Cruiseriweght Title: Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera

Kidman is defending. Neither guy can get control off a wristlock but Juvy fires off elbows to the head and sends Kidman into the buckle. Juvy goes up top and shoves Kidman down before getting two off a missile dropkick. A brainbuster gets two more for the challenger and we hit the chinlock. Kidman fights up but gets caught in a Rocker Dropper for two. Juvy’s headscissors is countered into a wheelbarrow slam for two more.

Kidman tries a belly to back suplex but gets countered into a sitout bulldog, followed by a cross body for two. Juvy goes up but gets dropkicked out of the air, setting up the Shooting Star. Guerrera is able to get to his feet and crotch Kidman, followed by a top rope hurricanrana for a VERY close two. Kidman counters a powerbomb into the sitout powerbomb and the Shooting Star retains the title.

Rating: B-. This started a bit slow but the ending sequence was great. Juvy looked great in the ring and Kidman was in over his head for most of the match. The counter to the powerbomb looked good and the Shooting Star was even better. Kidman is nailing the division right now and having solid match after solid match.

Ad for Sting and Randy Savage tapes.

Here are Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell to brag about their physiques. Bagwell says this is for the women: your job is to cook and clean and take care of your man. Scott wants JJ Dillon out here right now because he wants a match with Rick tonight. JJ comes to the ring and Scott accuses him of thinking Rick is the better brother.

Dillon says he has no favorite but Scott wants to know why the new referee came in to help Rick win because he thinks JJ had something to do with it. JJ says buy the replay to see what happened. Scott stays on it and JJ says he didn’t send the referee but would have if he had the chance. Steiner kicks him in the gut and puts him in the Recliner until security makes a save.

Here’s the Warrior because this hasn’t gone on long enough. Hogan had the chance to face a challenge last night but failed again. Last night will haunt Hogan forever (understatement of the year) because there’s a difference between beating someone up and defeating them. Warrior beat Hogan up last night and the bull pinfall doesn’t change it. Warrior calls himself a gatekeeper and says the time is near on the same Warrior channel.

Hogan comes out and Warrior is ready to go but Horace stops his uncle from getting in. Horace gets beaten up and sent to the floor. Giant comes in and gets the same so Hogan gets in. Warrior ducks a big boot and hits a shoulder to the ribs. Bischoff is knocked off the apron and the NWO runs.

Lex Luger/Konnan vs. Scott Steiner/Scott Hall

It’s a brawl to start as the Wolfpack is out for revenge for Nash. Konnan and Steiner fight to the floor with Konnan getting caught in the Recliner outside. Steiner adds a chair to the ribs as Luger and Hall fight in the aisle. I don’t think a bell ever rang so this isn’t even a match. Steiner beats on Konnan in the ring but Konnan comes back with a clothesline.

All four guys go to the floor and Konnan gets laid out again. Luger gets double teamed in the ring and a chair is brought in. Konnan comes in for the save as there’s no referee in sight. Luger nails Hall with the chair and Racks him but Steiner breaks it up and we take a break. Not a match but a fun segment.

US Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Bret Hart

Bret is defending and gets a quick two after countering a slam. They trade arm work until Page gets two off a rollup of his own. A neckbreaker gets two more for Page but Bret knees him in the ribs. Bret hammers away at the ribs and chokes on the ropes as the announcers talk about Sting’s injuries last night. We hit the chinlock on Page for a good while but he fights up with a jawbreaker for two.

Page gets crotched on the top and Bret brings him down with a gorgeous superplex. Hart misses a charge into the buckle to give Page two but Bret scores with the legsweep and middle rope elbow. Page is up at two and Bret is getting frustrated. Another jawbreaker has Bret in trouble and Page rams him into the buckle. Bret counters with a low blow that takes out both Page and the referee. The champ pulls out a foreign object but Page ducks a big swing and hits the Diamond Cutter for the pin and the title.

Rating: C-. This really didn’t do it for me but it wasn’t horrible. It felt like they just wanted to get the match over with but had to fill time. It’s nice to see Page get a clean(ish) pin for a title and to take it off Bret who just didn’t care at this point. The match didn’t work though as it just jumped into the Bret control with very little beforehand.

Bret goes off with chair shots post match and works over his knee before putting on the Sharpshooter. Page’s screams really make it that much better. Bret works the knee over with the chair even more until Goldberg makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. You can see things getting in trouble from here as the earlier matches were nothing to see and the rest of the show felt like they were trying to figure out what to do next. There was some fallout from Halloween Havoc, but at the same time it was like they had no idea where they wanted to go. That’s a problem going into a big battle royal show as there’s no story to a match like that. The show had good points but it didn’t work for the most part.

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